Tension screen



April 5, 1960 c. R. PARRISH 2,931,436

TENSION SCREEN Filed May 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 'I "I I "I "411' ,Mm; M T. m a

INVENTOR. C/mr/es HEW-fish,

A TTORNEYS.

April 5, 1960 c. R. FARRISH 2,931,436

TENSION SCREEN Filed May 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR; 671111165 5. PETITE/7;

BY m

ATTORNEYS.

TENSKGN CREEN Charles Raymond Parrish, W est ilolnmbia, SE.

Application May 17, 1955, Serial No. 503,999

'5 Claims. (Q1. 160-4328) This invention relates to improvements in frameless tension screens of the type used in windows to keep out insects and the like and to the means by which such tension screens may be attached to the window frame to provide a tight seal between the screen and the window frame in the absence of rigid side frames aflixed to the screen itself. Tension screens of this general type have been known in the art. However, a simple and effective means of attaching such screens to the window frames has long been sought.

The fundamental advantage in tension screens is the absence of rigid side frame members. This permits the screens to be stored easily in a small space and eliminates the additional weight of the side frame members. Without these members it is necessary to provide other means to insure continuous contact between the screen material and the window frame. The problem is aggravated by the fact that the screen material may stretch slightly after long use and no longer adhere to the window frame. The attaching means employed, must, in addition to satisfying these requirements, be so designed that a person having no particular mechanical skill can install the screen in a standard window frame.

it is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a tension screen which may be easily and quickly assembled and installed in a standard window frame.

it is also an object of this invention to provide a tension screen adapted to provide complete sealing between the screen and the window frame in which it is inserted.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means for adjusting the degree of tension upon a tension screen during the installation of the screen in a standard window frame.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a tension screen and means for attaching the tension screen to a standard window frame which will enable the tension on the screen to be adjusted after the screen is installed.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view partially cut-away of a screen and attaching means attached to a standard window-frame.

Pig. 2 is a cross sectional View along the lines II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partially cross sectional view along the lines Ill-411 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partially cut-away perspective view of part of the attachment means shown in the upper portion of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a cut-away sectional perspective view of the attachment means shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a screen according to' the invention.

Fig. 7 is a partial perspective view showing the screen of Fig. 6 partially installed-in a standard window-frame.

tent Fig. 8 is a partial perspective view of the upper clon gated attachment means showing the screen material in position.

Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective View of the upper attachment means shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the lower attachment means shown in Fig. 5.

A tension screen made in accordance with the invention includes flexible screen material to; elongated holding bars 11 and 12; top bar 15; top bar hooks 13 and 14 rigidly attached to the top bar 15; roller bar 16; and tension latch 17. The attaching means for installing the tension screen 10 in the window frame 26 includes top hanger brackets 21 and 22; hold down screws 24; and sill catch 25. In assembled form the holding bars 11 and 12 are attached to the top and bottom edges of the flexible screen material 10. They are formed of flat strips of a resilient material which are folded over along one side about the edge of the flexible screen material it to lock it in place as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. At the top edge of the flexible screen material it? the holding bar 11 is inserted in the elongated groove 26 formed in the top bar 15 as shown in Fig. 9. The groove 26 is so formed that the fiat bar 11 can be inserted lengthwise but when the top bar 15 is in position in the window frame 2% the tension on the flexible screen material 19 tends to fix the holding bar 11 in position. noted that the cross section of the top bar 15 is formed to maintain flush contact with the window frame 2 3. In order to achieve this the groove 26 is extended forward so that the back portion 27 thereof is in alignment with the upper section 28 of the top bar 15. The holding bar 12 at the lower edge of the flexible screen material it is inserted in the elongated groove 3% formed in roller bar 16, in substantially the same manner as the holding bar 11 is inserted in the elongated groove 26 of the top bar 15. The tension of the flexible screen material 10 upward from the roller bar 16 tends to lock the holding bar 12 in the elongated groove 30. The tension latch 17 is then affixed to the roller bar 16 at the middle thereof and is attached to it by means of the adjusting screw 31. The roller bar 16 may be rolled in the flexible screen material 10 until approximately the desired length of screen material 10 is exposed. The tension latch 17 is constructed to snap on the roller bar 16 and its position around the circumference of the roller bar 16 may be fixed by means of the adjusting screw 31 in any one of several positions defined by the threaded holes 32 tapped in the roller bar 16.

The tension latch 17 is a single piece of resilient material, preferably metal, having spring-like qualities, with a circular portion 33 sufliciently large in diameter to en able it to surround the roller bar 16 but having the end portion 34 formed more closely to the body of the tension latch 17 to enable it to clip to the roller bar 16. A straight portion 35 of the tension latch 17 is extended from the circular portion 33 in an inward direction with respect to the window frame 29. This straight portion 35 serves as a lever to engage or disengage the sill catch 25 as will be hereinafter more fully described.

Hanger brackets 21 and 22 are attached to the upper portion of the window frame 20 as indicated in Fig.1 to hold the top bar hooks 13 and 1d. The hanger brackets 21 are angle shaped pieces having openings 36 in one side disposed to receive bracket screws 37 and having cut-away portions 38 in the other side adapted to receive the top bar hooks 13 and 1d. The hanger brackets 21 and 22 are positioned in the window frame it will be aosnseo 3 29 so that the portions adapted to receive the top bar hooks 13 and 14 are aligned with the top bar 15. The openings 33 in the hanger brackets 21 and 22 are designed to receive the top bar hooks 13 and 14 and to retain them in position. The top bar hooks project inward from the top bar 15 through hanger brackets 21 and 22 at an angle which will enable the hooks 13 and 14 to be removed from the brackets 21 and 22 when the tension screen it) is loosened in the window frame 20.

Hold down screws 24 are affixed to the window frame above and adjacent the roller bar 16 these hold down screws 24 serve to retain the roller bar 16 in position against the window sill and to place the flexible screen material in tension when the tension latch 17 is engaged by the sill catch 25.

The sill catch 25 is attached to the bottom portion of the window frame 20 in a position corresponding to that of the tension latch 17 on the roller bar 16, preferably at the middle of the lower edge of the window frame. The sill catch 25 is formed of rigid or resilient material, preferably metal, bent to form a U-shape, the lower portion 40 of which is flush with the lower portion of the window frame 24) and the upper portion 41' of which extends above the lower portion of the window frame 2% and is provided with an elongated slot 42 adapted to receive the sill catch screw 43 which affixes the sill catch 25 to the window frame 20. The forward part of the upper portion 41 of the sill catch 42 is bifurcated to form fingers 44 adapted to engage the teeth of the tension latch 17, the teeth 45 tending to rise against'the fingers 44 by virtue of the tension in the screen material It The upper portion of the sill catch 25 may be raised or lowered against the teeth 45 to decrease or increase the amount of tension on the flexible screen material it). By lowering the sill catch screw 43 the fingers 44 of sill catch 25 tend to force the teeth 45 downward which, in turn, forces the roller bar 16 to rotate, increasing the tension on the flexible screen material 16. The tension latch 17 may be released from the sill catch 25 by depressing the extended portion 35 of the tension latch 17 and forcing it away from the window frame 20.

A tension screen may be assembled in accordance with this invention by first providing a piece of flexible screen material 10 sufficiently Wide to completely cover the open portion of the window frame 29 and somewhat longer than the height of the window frame. The top and bottom edges of the flexible screen material are then fitted into the holding bars 11 and 12 respectively which are bent over the screen material 10 to provide permanent engagement therewith. The upper holding bar 11 is then inserted in the elongated groove 26 of the top bar preferably by sliding it along the groove 26 from one end to the other so that the flexible screen material It: extends frorn the elongated groove 26 downward. The lower holding bar 12 is likewise inserted in the elongated groove 3i} of the roller bar 16 so that the flexible screen material it) extends upward. The hanger brackets 21 and 22 are placed in the upper side of the window frame in positions to conform to the positions of the top bar hooks 13 and 14-. The top bar 15 is put in place flush with the top side of the window frame 2% by inserting the top bar hooks 13 and 14 in the openings 38 of the brackets 21 and 22. The sill catch and the hold down screws 24 are then positioned on the lower edge and the upright sides respectively of the window frame 20 in position to cooperate with the tension latch 17 and the roller bar 16. The tension latch 17 is affixed to the roller bar 16. The length of the flexible screen material 10 may be more accurately fixed by rolling the flexible 'material 1% about the roller bar 16. The tension latch 17 is then fixed in position by the adjusting screw 31 at the appropriate hole 32 about the circumference of the roller bar 16. The roller bar 16'is then drawn inward by means of the extended portion and the teeth pended claims.

are engaged by the fingers 44 of the sill catch 25. The tension on the flexible material 10 may be further adjusted as described above by means of the sill catch screw 43. It will be apparent that the tension screen may be made of a number of various materials. The flexible screen material 10 may be of the usual metal or plastic mesh material. The means for attaching the tension screen to the window frame may be applied to screening material or to any other type of flexible material such as solid transparent plastic material. The attaching means are preferably of metal and, for purposes of resistance to weather, of a corrosion resistant metal.

The foregoing description and the terms employed therein are not deemed to be limiting, but illustrative, and all equivalents are included within the scope of the ap- Having thus described my inventiornl claim:

1. A window screen comprising a sheet of screening material, a pair of elongated bars alfixed to two opposite sides of said screening material, an upper retaining bar having spaced hook means disposed thereon and a longitudinal groove concave upward extending the length thereof, said groove receiving one of said elongated bars, an elongated tubular member having an enclosed elongated groove formed therein, said second groove receiving the other of said elongated bars, and latching means disposed about a portion of said tubular member and adapted to be fixed thereto in any of several positions about the circumference thereof.

2. A window screen comprising a sheet of screening material, an elongated bar folded about one edge of said screening material, an elongated bar having an enclosed groove extending throughout its length and off-set from the remainder thereof for receiving said first-named bar, said second-named bar having a pair of spaced hook members depending therefrom at an acute angle with respect to said screening material, tubular means afiixed to the opposite edge of said screening material and rotatable for adjusting the length of said screening material, and latch means embracing said tubular means for tensioning said material, said tubular means being rotatable relative to and fixable to said latch means in any of a plurality of rotative positions.

3. Apparatus for maintaining screening material under tension in a window frame comprising an elongated bar folded about the upper edge of said screening material; an elongated grooved bar receiving said folded bar; spaced hook elements depended from said grooved bar; a pair of spaced bracket members aflixed to the upper edge of said window frame adapted to receive said hook elements; an elongated bar folded about the lower edge ofv said screening material; an elongated tubular member having an enclosed groove running lengthwise therethrough and receiving said second folded fiat bar; latch means adjustably attached about the circumference of said tubular member and having projecting means; and locking means for maintaining tension in said screening material, said locking means including catch means afiixed to the bottom portion of said window frame and having a projecting portion adapted to engage said projecting means and a pair of retaining members affixed to the sides of said window frame.

4. Apparatus for holding a frameless tension screen in a window frame comprising a sectional tubular element having an opening along the side thereof, a lever element extended from said tubular element at one side of the opening thereof and teeth disposed on said tubular element below said lever element extending inward of said window frame.

5. Apparatus for holding a frameless'tension screen in a window frame comprising a U-shaped resilient bracket having a pair of opposed faces tending to separate due to tension in said bracket, said faces having common vertically aligned openings, the upper of said faces terminating outwardly of said window in a pair of grooved References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Eidsmore Nov. 27, 1906 6 Greist Apr. 1, 1913 Soule Feb. 15, 1916 Kraemer et a1. July 17, 1917 McDonald Nov. 17, 1925 Marshall June 12, 1928 Terrel Aug. 14, 1934 Cohen Apr. 22, 1952 Turner Dec. 27, 1955 Burns Apr. 10, 1956 

